BON
The Emotion Industry is the pairs audio visual comment on the modern digital landscape and its influence
“There is an unfathomable power to blur reality as we know it. The ability to discern what’s real and what’s not is becoming increasingly difficult - social media super computers using data points to push your buttons for manufacturing consent, emotions and attention becoming the product, Ai articles and deep fake images add to the illusion. The ability to really ‘see’ the objective reality of what’s been created is the new enlightenment”
We aim to use the most modern cutting edge techniques available to us. Sometimes embracing the errors and inconsistencies in the knowledge that when the “bugs” are ironed out and the tech made smooth these errors will be lost forever. Capturing the spaces in between advancement is an essential archive to advancement. Yesterday’s idiosyncrasies are today’s nostalgia.
Recorded between London, L.A, and Canada using tape and vintage analogue equipment - Emotion industry is a narrative reflecting on sense of self, and identity in the digital realm - a visual album of dream logic scored through the lens of Afro Futurism, Asian Industrial electronica, Sound System music, Post Rave and Dub.
Select works from The Emotion Industry V&A 25th April 2025 Performance
Impossible on Demand
Created with TouchDesigner, DALL-E 2, Stable Diffusion, and Final Cut Pro 1.5, Impossible on Demand marks the beginning of the Fool’s Journey. This digital frieze-style installation portrays ambiguous, dreamlike figures navigating digital narratives, reflecting the apprehension and confusion at the outset of a transformative digital and emotional quest.
Pilot
In this film-noir inspired visual piece, viewers are plunged into a stark world of black-and-white thinking, and corporate efficiency. An example of AI’s infancy is it’s creative re-interpretation of the prompt "Parallax", generating surreal, imposing, empty buildings that rise, shrink, and shape-shift. Real footage intertwines with AI-generated imagery, prompting the audience's challenge to discern reality from illusion. This tense urban wasteland brims with mysterious emblems and cryptic symbols, deepening the sense of digital unease and ambiguity.
Illuminate i
Illuminate i visually explores the restless depths of a darkened soul, guiding viewers through oppressive, near-impenetrable darkness punctuated by stark flashes of white and vibrant bursts of colour. Frantic movements and rapidly shifting visuals evoke the tension and anxiety inherent in navigating digital environments clouded by misinformation, nefarious agendas, and calculated opacity.
Illuminate ii
Illuminate ii employs Gaussian Splat rendering of real-world footage captured in a serene, idyllic location, creating an immersive and contemplative visual meditation. Emerging gently from darkness, the piece explores a transformative journey towards clarity—flowing smoothly through dreamlike spaces, a reflection on the transition from confusion toward serenity and insight.
Internal Weather
Internal Weather explores the emotional turbulence triggered by algorithmically curated digital content designed to emotionally engage and manipulate viewers. Employing AI visuals generated through Runway AI, the piece vividly captures the viewer's journey through shifting emotional states, analogous to the weather—moving from intense storms and chaos to serene, lush, sunny vistas.
Exploded View
Exploded View explores cryptic ‘writings on the wall,’ drawing viewers into a mysterious digital environment filled with uncertainty. Central to the piece is a figure seemingly trapped, struggling to communicate within a television-like broadcast, referencing vulnerability and exposure within public digital spaces.
Created using Runway, Luma AI, Cloud Combine, and Final Cut Pro, the piece transitions smoothly from anxious obscurity toward illuminating clarity, ultimately revealing portraits of philosophers and critical thinkers, underscoring the importance of intellectual curiosity and critical thinking.
Halo Effect
Halo Effect examines how our digitally saturated landscape intensifies the cognitive bias known as the "halo effect" in an age of populism—where nuanced truths become overshadowed by persuasive agendas. Crafted entirely from real footage enhanced using Topaz, the work visually portrays the subtle infiltration of misinformation, and the gradual seeping of manipulated ideas into human consciousness.
Data Point Dolly
Data Point Dolly captures the frantic consumption and relentless pace of digital life through distorted vocals, rapid edits, and chaotic visuals—where your attention and emotions become the primary products. Amid surveillance-like glitches and sensory overload, moments of clarity emerge, suggesting the relief in reclaiming emotional autonomy amidst digital chaos.
Themes, Magic Realism & The Fool’s Journey
The project's secondary engagement examines the evolution of online spaces, from the early Web 1 era of niche communities to the emotionally manipulative algorithms of Web 2 and beyond.
This transition has redefined how individuals perceive truth, agency, and emotional autonomy, making the ability to critically navigate digital spaces more crucial than ever.
This shift from an open-source culture to a reactive internet has influenced the project's themes of identity, agency, and technological dependency.